Month: January 2022

President Joe Biden will be one of many guests for the upcoming primetime special “Celebrating Betty White: America’s Golden Girl,” NBC announced Thursday. The special, a tribute to the iconic comedic actress Betty White, will feature a taped tribute from Biden commemorating the late White, who passed away last December. NBC also announced several other
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In some ways, Javier Bardem and Christoph Waltz have trod similar career paths. In the space of two years, both stole the show and won Oscars playing cold-blooded killers, Bardem in the Coen brothers’ “No Country for Old Men,” Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds.”  Both went on to become memorable Bond villains. And they also have
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Crooked Media, the liberal-leaning podcast and media company founded by three ex-Obama aides, is expanding its political and news content lineup with its first podcast acquisitions: “Strict Scrutiny,” which follows the U.S. Supreme Court, and “Hot Take,” covering the climate crisis. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed. The pair of weekly talk shows
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In the streaming age, documentary filmmakers, once the long-suffering artists working in obscurity to finish self-funded passion projects, have become rock stars. Deep-pocketed platforms like Netflix and Hulu have dished out for costly archival clearances and biopic rights, and the strategy has invariably led to awards glory. But just as the medium has become more
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After a stampede of awards announcements that include ACE Eddies, Producers Guild and Writers Guild of America Awards, the prestigious Directors Guild of America Awards has finally weighed in with their own set of nominees that recognizes achievements in directing. In the motion pictures category, the group nominated Kenneth Branagh for “Belfast” (Focus Features), Jane
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Though he’s been an acclaimed actor for five decades, earned four Oscar nominations and starred in several blockbusters, Willem Dafoe will take on a new challenge this weekend when he hosts “Saturday Night Live” for the first time Jan. 29. The announcement was met with massive enthusiasm online, with many people expressing disbelief Dafoe had
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Romanian animator Anca Damian’s psychedelic, musical take on the Robinson Crusoe’s story, “The Island,” will be accompanied by an AR exhibition inviting the audience to further explore its colorful universe, Variety has learned. A board-game based on her seventh feature has also been developed, mirroring its protagonists’ search for paradise in the film. Set to
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Gloria Medel Solomons has joined CBS as vice president of alternative and specials, Variety has learned. In her new role, Medel Solomons will oversee portions of alternative and specials programming for the primetime lineup of CBS Entertainment. She will report to Jack Sussman, CBS’ executive vice president of specials, music, and live events/alternative and reality. “Gloria
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Hollywood has given us a wide range of mothers, including the hard-working and devoted (“Claudine”), the self-sacrificing (“Bambi”) and the monstrous (“The Manchurian Candidate”). It’s hard to come up with anything new on the subject, but first-time writer-director Maggie Gyllenhaal, adapting Elena Ferrante’s novel, constantly surprises us by depicting several mothers who are complex, original
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Japanese auteur Koji Fukada is developing his latest feature film, a look into the frenzied world of Japan’s idol culture, which he’ll be presenting during the Rotterdam Film Festival’s CineMart co-production market this week. The project will then head to the European Film Market next month as part of the Rotterdam-Berlinale Express, a collaboration between
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Retta has signed a talent-holding deal with NBCUniversal, Variety has learned. “I’ve spent most of my career working with NBCUniversal and I was lucky to have my first series regular role on ‘Parks,’ which continues to be beloved by a dedicated fan base,” Retta said. “It was a love for Donna Meagle that motivated Marti Noxon’s preteen
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“The Afterparty” isn’t exactly subtle about its conceit. The new Apple TV Plus comedy opens with Detective Danner (Tiffany Haddish) telling a room full of suspects that “we’re all stars of our own movie — the same thing could happen, but you see it in a different way.” In order to solve the murder of
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Animated films including Netflix’s “Over the Moon” have gone high fashion in the past few years, with computer-generated costumes created by notable fashion designers. “Sing 2,” now available on-demand, is the latest to recruit high-fashion names to outfit the CGI characters. Rodarte sisters Kate and Laura Mulleavy brought their designs to the film, the sequel
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Since the early 2000s, the Oscars have been in a rhythm of awarding darker movies with tinges of death, depression, racism and violence, illustrated by best picture winners such as “Million Dollar Baby” (2004), “Crash” (2005), “The Departed” (2006) and “No Country for Old Men” (2007). They stopped the trend with the uplifting “Slumdog Millionaire”
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